Sara Bareilles Gives Impromptu Performance At Waitress Musical

Sara Bareilles took the stage during her Waitress musical on Wednesday (30Mar16) to stall for time as crew members fixed a technical glitch.

The Brave singer composed the music and lyrics for the Broadway show, which opened in previews on Sunday (27Mar16).

But on Wednesday (30Mar16), a set piece malfunctioned during the first act, forcing the show come to a screeching halt. While some of the actors backstage were expecting director Diane Paulus to take the stage and update the audience, they were surprised to see Sara appear in front of the crowd at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

In an effort to stall for time, Sara began singing Part of Your World, a classic tune from animated musical The Little Mermaid, and invited the bemused audience members to sing along with her.

Sara even took a moment to take a selfie of herself and the audience, and later posted the shot to Instagram, writing the caption, "Technical difficulty at the Brooks. So Ariel (The Little Mermaid character)."

Towards the end of her song, she was alerted by a crew member that they needed five more minutes to fix the problem, prompting Sara to sit in the middle of the stage and search for new ways to stretch for time. The show's music supervisor and conductor suggested playing a song cut from the production, called Down at the Diner.

Sara even received help from a couple of cast members when she forgot some of her own lyrics, and they sang the tune from behind a screen.

The production was delayed 30 minutes.

Waitress is already a big Broadway hit - tickets for the first four shows sold out and set a house record at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for the biggest single performance haul at the venue over the weekend (27Mar16).